Let's see: we blogged #287 in 2019, #290 in 2011, #291 in 2014, and #289 today! Yeah, that makes sense. From 1979, Thor #289, "Look Homeward, Asgardian!" Written and edited by Roy Thomas, pencils by Keith Pollard, inks by Chic Stone.
This feels like the middle of the Eternals storyline, but it would go on, on-and-off, to Thor #300, a book I would need some kind of grant, stipend, large cash prize to even consider blogging. Lot going on in that one, probably too much. Still, here Thor has confronted the Celestial "One-Above-All," who like most Celestials doesn't seem to deign to talk to him, but shows him an image of Odin seemingly bending the knee to Arishem. Thor calls it treachery, but wants to know if Odin has sold out somehow. Instead, Thor and Hero, the Forgotten One, are teleported back to Olympia and the Eternals. (Sersi appears, to utter the epithet "by all the sailors I ever turned into swine!") Zuras, head Eternal, is furious at the reveal of the Forgotten One; calling him traitor. Thor rises to defend him, as manipulated by the Celestials; and it looks like it's going to come to blows before Makkari reveals Sprite's involvement, from Eternals #13...two years earlier? Thor also makes a comment about not tolerating tyrants, and Zuras realizes he's not mad at him...Thena and Ikaris present opposing views to Zuras, who decides to pair 'Hero' and Sprite together, to sort of account for each other.
The Eternals were gathering in numbers, to form the Uni-Mind and face the Celestials. Thor doesn't think even that has a chance, and asks for time to find another option: he's given a day, the time it would take for the other Eternals to arrive. Meanwhile, Odin stops by Mount Olympus, and briefly scuffles with some Titans before facing Zeus. Hercules doesn't want anything to do with Odin, since he knew Thor had been exiled from Asgard for standing up to the Celestials; but Odin proposes an alliance "...to smash any and all who would strive to save Midgard from death and destruction!" Was the All-Father turning heel? Back in Asgard, Balder was still in a deathlike state, as part of a "false Ragnarok" Odin had engineered to stave off the real thing; so there was maybe more evidence against him there. (Herc's mustache appears to have been left off that last panel there!)
Thor arrives on the Bifrost, but is turned away at the gates of Asgard: even Sif tries to hold him off, since Odin had said he couldn't re-enter Asgard until he returned. Thor is a little steamed at that; like the gathered gods were being condescending. Crying, Sif activates the Destroyer, putting her spirit in it, which gives Thor pause. He's beaten and thrown off the Rainbow Bridge, hurtling towards earth, as Arishem glances upward, judging...
Gods forbid I ever read this thing in order; with a little luck we'll probably see another chapter sometime in the next five or eight years. Still, a pretty massive cast this issue, and there would be even more characters later, then the plot really goes off the rails around #296 or so with the Ring of Nibelung stuff.
The GCD tagged this one with "Keywords: introspection; loneliness; misery." And maybe some jokes? Somewhere? From 1977, Howard the Duck Human #19, "Howard the Human!" Written and edited by Steve Gerber, pencils by Gene Colan, inks by Klaus Janson.
The usually-miserable Howard was more so than usual today, because Beverly had been forced to marry Dr. Bong in order to spare his life, and oh yeah, Bong's "Evolvo-chamber" had turned him into a nondescript schlubb of a human! The GCD notes think human-Howard resembles Harvey Bullock, but I'd say Howard looks younger and more hapless, so...Depressed and wandering the streets, he finds a fiver; which of course leads to problems. He's accosted by drunken artist "Mad Dog" for a cup of coffee, then Mad Dog demolishes the restaurant that won't serve his smelly hide. Howard opts to split, but is joined by a young woman, who seems to be trying to ditch her date, while he fights Mad Dog.
Although Howard's duck-self tells him to get outta there, he's unable to get away from Amy, who drags him back to her apartment. Her date Elton had been a former co-worker, and she describes him as "thinking (she) was his mind," but she felt she had her hands full thinking for herself. Howard crashes out on her couch, although it appears Amy slept there with him; but when Elton storms in, they're surprised to find Howard was a duck again! Howard himself doesn't realize until he was in the shower and too short to reach the brush, and wonders if...whatever happened last night, got the adrenalin going and changed him. But, no time to ponder that, as Dr. Bong appears, to finish him...to be continued!
There's a few on the last couple pages, but really not as many jokes as you'd maybe expect.
I had mentioned this one a few times, but surprisingly didn't blog it until now! From 1993, Untamed #1, "Wounds of Equal People" Story and art by Neil Hansen.
This was part of a fairly big push at the time, Epic's "Heavy Hitters" of creator-owned limited series. We've seen Lawdog a few times; I think that was the only ongoing series of the lot, and it didn't even last long. I really liked Mike Baron's Feud and Spyke, and Howard Chaykin's Midnight Men, but I wouldn't have recognized Neil Hansen's name, even if I had maybe seen his work in Savage Sword of Conan and Badger, where he occasionally used the name "Spyder." He's got a great visceral style for action, but while I don't think he had a lot of writing credits, he comes out swinging here.
In a not-too-distant future, supercop Tokudane "Dane" Kuchiyama is sent from Japan to San Diego, to help stop the rise of a Yakuza breakaway gang, the Kosansui. Dane is partnered up with wildman Griffin Palmer, recently returned to active duty after the death of his wife in a car crash. Griffin gets a tip from one of his usual informants, which turns into a trap and sets up a solid fight scene; then later he murders the hell out of said informant. Meanwhile, Dane is visited by a strange woman, who claims to be Griffin's late wife: she further claims to have been kept in a safe house, but is seemingly as afraid of Griffin as of anything else. Before Dane can get more info out of her, Griffin calls; and when she tries to leave, the front door of his apartment explodes!
The next day, Dane plays his cards close to the vest, not mentioning that Griffin's wife had been there when his place was bombed. They get into a car chase after some cop-killers, which Dane stops short with a "hardened C-4 throwing star," but that causes a massive pile-up. Dane wakes up on the sidewalk, having been pulled from a burning car by Griffin...
I don't know if this is a hidden gem, but it's three solid issues I still really like. If you see it in the cheap bins, it's well worth grabbing for a read.
OAFE.net had a review of the latest Brother Voodoo figure, that lambasted it as largely unnecessary. It was basically the third figure of him, in the last ten years or so; with the second figure being pretty easily available, possibly even now. This latest one was in the "Strange Tales" wave, and aside from a slightly altered staff, the only thing going for it was the Build-a-Figure piece for Blackheart. But, a commenter pointed out, the Eye of Agamotto was removable...which led to this!
And despite appearing on the cover of the first issue of "The Douglock Chronicles" in Excalibur, Nightcrawler wasn't there to meet Zero. He was in Germany fighting D'spayre! I don't know if he got back in time, since Stryfe would destroy Zero in Excalibur #80, a comic I know I've read, but...yeah.
I've picked up a bunch of Legion books lately, but the other day I found three issues of this series. They might've been the ones I needed for the set! From 1988, Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes, featuring "The Nik Feelds Show" Written by Ty Templeton, art by Curt Swan and Kurt Schaffenberger.
This would've been the 30th anniversary year for the Legion, and they had more than enough characters for seven issues of reference; but each issue also had a short lead-in story. Most of this one was "Cadets," a fictionalized holo-vid of the Legion Academy; which then segues into a talk show promoting it, with one of the film's consultants: Colossal Boy's dad Wynn Allon, who was also married to Marte Allon, the former President of Earth! The story then moves to Wynn and Marte discussing his appearance, and how the producers didn't really consult him much, indicating the film wasn't especially accurate, but that might be dramatic license. Wynn then implores Marte to mingle at the Legion Parents' Reunion party: she doesn't want to, but Wynn reminds her, it's at their house, right then. There's about 90 continuity references in like 12 pages; something you can only get away with if you've been around 30 years.
Since this was the last issue, it's mostly the end of the alphabet, but still has some big names like Ultra Boy, the Time Trapper, and Wildfire. The Wanderers also get a big push, for their spin-off, which didn't really take off. I think I have one issue of it around here somewhere; but it might've got real weird by the end.
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You might have seen this online last week, but Tesla's self-driving feature only uses cameras--as opposed to radar, lidar, ultrasonic, anything--and can be fooled by a Wile E. Coyote style painting on a wall. I don't know if Teslas are particularly vulnerable to this or if it's been patched, but previously you could trap an autonomous vehicle almost by painting it into a corner: if it won't cross double-lines, you can herd it. That wouldn't work on Elvis here, which both leads to a lot of deaths but is way more entertaining. From 1986, Judge Dredd: the Early Cases #6, featuring "Elvis" Written by John Wagner, art by Ian Gibson.
This was a four-part storyline, beginning in 1978's 2000 AD #53; and was set during the relatively brief tenure of Judge-Marshal Dredd, head lawman of Luna-City One! It feels apocryphal, like something that would be retconned out; but no, I think it's still in continuity! Computerized-car Elvis was like a son to its owner, until an accident damages its personality, turning it into a psychotic, murdering brat. When the Judges have him cornered in a parking garage, Elvis was also clever enough to reprogram a bunch of other cars, making them maniacs like him and giving him the chance to escape. He then rampages through a department store and helps himself to a bunch of toys, so it can't be all bad--okay, yeah, it can.
Elvis hides out in a poor couple's apartment, then is incensed when Dredd calls him out on the news. Like, really calls him out; like a wrestling promo, he lays it pretty thick. Dredd may have outsmarted himself there, as Elvis uses tunnels to remain unseen, and surprises him in his own apartment! Walter the Wobot is tied-up, and instead of just killing him, Elvis takes Dredd as a hostage, figuring nobody would stop him if it meant killing Dredd!
Also this issue: "22nd Century Futsie" When his dad goes insane with "future-shock" on New Year's Eve, little Arthur Goodworthy Jr. goes to Dredd, to see if maybe, just maybe, his dad could be brought in alive for a change? Please? I don't think it was even future-shock that got Arthur Sr. as much as a hostile work environment and lousy co-workers, but sure. Dredd tells the kid dad'll be okay; but inwardly thinks he's never going to really recover from that; like a porcelain figure glued back together, scarred and fragile.
I don't think I had read this one before! I wonder if I have the rest of this mini, though.
My local comic shop keeps a rack by the door, of maybe not minty fresh books, but interesting ones: a lot of the Gold Key Twilight Zones I blogged last year were from there, a fistful of early Swamp Things, and a bunch of Kamandi. I'm almost getting a decent run going, but I wasn't sure if I had read this whole series before: from 1993, Kamandi at Earth's End #4, "The Man at Earth's End!" Written by Tom Veitch, pencils by Frank Gomez, inks by Mike Barreiro.
Tom Veitch wrote Star Wars: Dark Empire, which I think had one of my favorite lines in Star Wars comics, with Palpatine badmouthing Vader in a fight. I mention that, because this one...enh. This was an Elseworlds modernization of Kirby's Kamandi, but it doesn't have the evolved, talking animals anymore; which leaves a rather charmless apocalypse. It's kind of like if the original Kamandi had been inspired by Mad Max and its sundry knock-offs instead of Planet of the Apes. Raised in a bunker by the computer "Mother," Kamandi is kicked out into the world with a mission, to kill the man Mother claimed destroyed the world...a familiar figure, with a big red 'S.' Kamandi quickly picks up a couple sidekicks, um, Burly Gun-Guy, and Girl. Okay, they have names, but they're no Prince Tuftan or Dr. Canus. They're chased all the way across the country by Ben Boxer and his Terminator-like friends, who are both less and more human than they were in Kirby's version.
I didn't love this one, but I guess it did well enough that Veitch and Gomez got a prestige format one-shot sequel, for Superman: At Earth's End.
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1. Still on 50+ hours a week, so if I seem a bit fried sometimes; I'm a bit fried. That and it's perfectly seasonable winter weather out, as in cold as all get out. Or at least it was when I started this! Between all that and the pitch blackness, and the general state of everything, these don't feel like super fun times; yet this silly blog continues, because of course it does.
2. A couple weeks ago, Pamela Anderson was in the Criterion Closet, and I guess her picks were pretty legit? I'm not a serious enough film guy to say: I used to watch more artsy, "classic" films for a while; but I think I watched just enough to get the jokes and references I'd see elsewhere. But what hit me on watching that, was, why don't I have a Criterion Closet of my own? A. Because I rent this crummy house and don't have a spare closet or whatever, and B. Do I even own any Criterion discs? True, but putting that aside...(Actually, I have one: early John Woo, Last Hurrah for Chivalry.)
I don't think Criterion is real strong on horror or sci-fi, which is largely why I haven't invested in (m)any: RoboCop would have been one of the few I could've been tempted on, but I think a lot of the special features from that have turned up elsewhere later. Also, a quick web search claims the Criterion Closet has 1500 DVD/Blu-Rays in it; although that probably includes duplicates for people to take. But, out of the 40 most commonly picked movies from the Criterion Closet, I've seen three, maybe four. Would like to pick up some more David Lynch, but I lowball a lot of these, and take used, plain DVD's as needed. (Got Dune a week or two back for like a buck!) Geez, there was actually a sale since I started this post; I did just order Lost Highway and Mulholland Dr. (I haven't seen either in years! I'm pretty sure I saw them both in theater with the same batch of co-workers; drinking before, during, and after the films, trying to piece together what we just saw...)
Anyway, I would like a set-up like that for my collection. Although, I wonder how I would arrange it? Reckon like most of you, I have a pile of discs that were either cheap as hell, or cheap enough they were worth buying to see; many of which I probably wouldn't watch again. (Or movies that were part of some bizarre deal, like buy this DVD, get a ticket to that movie.) That includes assorted low-end horror movies, but also stuff like Joker. Those would definitely go on the lower, filler shelves...I have a DVD rack full of DC animated movies, but that's about as organized as I get. (There were a couple stragglers on the bottom of that rack; like that Quartermass and the Pit DVD I couldn't find!) As I type this, I might do a little DVD shopping here in a bit: somebody posted a scene from The One, a movie I absolutely love. Jet Li vs. the multiverse, years before the latter was all over the damn place. Since my DVD's are spread across multiple racks...and a boxful somewhere...I dug around to see if I had it, and now I'm annoyed that I don't seem to. When I end up with two copies, this is why! Still, just something I've been gnawing on in my head. Digital and streaming is convenient, and there are a lot of movies I've seen there that I absolutely don't need to own, but you can't have faith in those services that they won't take movies away later.
3. OK, real talk for a second: most of you have probably noticed, things in America aren't great. And while it sucks, there are things you can do: a simple one, is to contact your senators and your representative. Call them, email them, go down to their offices and boo them. (If they're on the right track, let them know too; but what are the odds of that?) Keep an ear out for protests in your area: if nothing else, it'll make you feel better to see other people that also see things aren't what they should be. That said, be careful out there: I went to one recently, and was safe as houses, because it was almost entirely middle-class and/or senior citizen white people. Depending on where you are, it might be less friendly; which also sucks but do what you can. Every little bit helps, I think, like chipping away at stone.
4. Hey, my Serpent Society got another member!...sort of.
I really enjoyed Captain America: Brave New World, although not without quibbles: Giancarlo Esposito is a get, but his Sidewinder is just a gunsel, his "Serpent" is a mere militia, hardly a Society. That feels like a waste, especially since the Cap movies did that already with Batroc, sucking all the character out of him and just leaving an angry French thug.
5. There is a candy store in the local mall, that I seemingly only visit when some candy I like is discontinued forever. First it was Atomic Fireballs, then those Super Mario Wonder Balls: ugh, we used to be a country that made things. Both of those still might be available, if you really dig and/or pay through the nose; but by and large have gone the way of Crystal Pepsi, or Big Lots. I don't know if anyone reading had the latter in their neck of the woods, and the selection really varied from time to time or by location, but over the years along with a lot of discontinued or semi-expired food I did get a fair number of figures and DVD's from Big Lots: a bunch of the old Masters of the Universe Classics, for instance, or those aforementioned DC animated movies or box sets. I know it's just another faceless, soulless corporate entity, but I don't like seeing something like that go under, because it feels more and more like there's only two stores to buy anything from, and one of them's Amazon. (I still get a few things from there, but I don't love it and could probably get less still.)
I suspect more of you have an Ollies nearby, or a Five Below; for all your discount crap needs. Lucky!
6. Right this second, I have one of the Marvel Legends Nemesis Build-a-Figure wave: Fabian Cortez. "Yay, my Fabian Cortez figure came in!"...said no one, ever. I don't know why these seem to be a staggered release, instead of opening a box and the whole wave's right there: I'll probably have Marrow and Husk this week, and I've seen the latter and the Ultimate Wolverine at GameStop so far. For some reason...and I feel like you should drink every time I say that...the X-Factor Cyclops is late, like it won't show up until weeks after the others.
I pre-ordered ROM and Spider-Man '77...in fact, I ordered two of each of them. "One to stay, and one to play," an old boss of mine would say. I have done virtually no serious planning on this, but I do have the half-assed notion of opening a shop in six or seven years. Which is a good excuse to horde--er, I mean, collect duplicates!
The above picture, of my mini Micronauts collection, includes the new Super7 ReAction Biotron; who I thought I would be a good size to go with the little ones from...um...eBay? They were part of a Hasbro Comicon thing a few years back, which I think included a 3-and-3/4 inch ROM. And the below picture, um, I pretty much bought that Fortnite motorboat for one joke. No regrets!
7. Ooh, it might be bike weather next week! I'm hoping my tires are still good, but I'm probably going to be sticking close to home for a bit: I wrecked my foot a little last year, although oddly, now it's the other one that seems to hurt? Getting old blows. Go have fun now while you can!
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I don't know, yet, if Mobius is the type to micro-manage: I feel like he'd bring in Death's Head for stuff he absolutely didn't want to deal with himself, or something that couldn't be solved the usual TVA thugs. Ah, if you saw Deadpool and Wolverine, the TVA could be short on goons right now.
Our arms dealer today is yet another video game figure: a Revenant from Apex Legends. Thing looks more like the Robot Devil than the Robot Devil. And the rocket launcher thing Skye wanted, I'm pretty sure actually came with another figure of her! Sooner or later...
We saw the second volume some time back; I'm not sure if this is the third. Definitely isn't the 20th volume, though. From 2019, Marvel Knights 20th #2, written by Matthew Rosenberg and Donny Cates, art by Nico Henrichon.
This was about the same time as War of the Realms, and I managed to fish this whole series from the same dollar bins! Somehow, the timeline or the world has changed, and no one remembers super-heroes, nor do they remember themselves. But a few are starting to, like Bruce Banner, who then tells Frank Castle: this is an unusual story for the Punisher, but it works. Frank didn't have his wife and kids in the altered reality, but had a girlfriend and was reasonably happy...except he knew something was missing, and the sight of a scribbled note with his skull symbol makes him realize he used to have a very different life. (Banner keeps getting weird little notes, mostly with names on them: I thought it was the Hulk writing them when Banner was asleep, but nope!)
While Matt Murdock was starting to remember after a botched visit from Frank, he also now has what might be the ghost of Karen Page keeping him company; as Frank and Banner try to contact another of the names: Elektra Natchios. She beats the stuffing out of Frank, admitting she knew there was something going on, but she didn't want to go back to a life where she hurt people...and was hurt back in turn. Frank refuses to quit, but gets distracted by Banner Hulking out in the back of his cop car. Elektra nearly stabs him in the back, but is stopped by Daredevil. He proposes they work together, but is surprised to realize, they can see Karen Page too...
This was collected as Marvel Knights: Make the World Go Away, which is a better title! It's a fun read, and no spoilers; but the answer for the reality shift wasn't Purple Man this time like I'd guessed, but it does tie-in to the Marvel Knights theme. I don't think I had read the Marvel Knights: Hulk book; I want to say that was from a stretch where they gave anybody an MK-labelled mini-series.
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Either the comic shop should have this, or I should: every time I buy a comic I know full well I have already somewhere, throw something in the jar! We can't do it as a drinking game anymore, I can hear my liver grinding now. From 1994, the Night Man #5, "Alone" Written by Steve Englehart, pencils by Kyle Hotz, inks by Jason Minor.
This was the conclusion of a two-parter introducing Night Man's primary female villain, Rhiannon, although he maybe doesn't know that yet: previously, he had saved two women from having their organs harvested by a cloaked, hooded figure, who escaped. At a crime scene, with a body that was almost completely cracked open; Night Man tries to share info with the cops, which pretty much just turns into an argument: "Ooh, yeah, like the cops are all trustworthy" is a legit point in 1994, or now, but won't make you many friends on the force.
Still, the round left eye on his mask wasn't just "for effect," it also recorded video! Ah, VHS. Miss you, old friend. (I don't think Night Man lugged even a miniature VHS recorder on him all the time, but maybe just swapped it in as needed.)
Night Man works the clues, back to Rhiannon's fake fiance, a dupe who's still smitten with her, and Johnny knows how the guy feels. He wonders why he was doing the superhero thing, instead of his far more enjoyable life as a jazz musician; but since he could 'hear' evil, he didn't feel like he had a choice. Remembering the end of Vertigo, Night Man catches up to Rhiannon near the Golden Gate Bridge, but she's set an elaborate, somewhat Looney Tunes trap with a rope net and a cannon. She admits, she felt the attraction between them too, but a 4700-year-old woman has to be a little picky: either he proves himself by escaping, or dies and she uses his organs to keep herself alive for another six-year cycle. You can tell she's pulling for him, but isn't so sentimental that she wouldn't eat him or whatever if he failed.
The Night Man escapes, but can't get past the fact that she had killed hundreds--thousands, Rhiannon corrects him--of people over the course of her life. Rhiannon counters, hey, girl's gotta eat: she didn't ask for that, and god forbid a woman have hobbies. She shoves him, and he goes over the side, barely clinging to a wire: Rhiannon tries to save him, even though she has no intention of not murdering people. Instead, Night Man zaps her with the taser in his glove, and she goes into the bay. Feeling like he had chosen to be alone, he goes home to his pirate radio station--shades of Pump Up the Volume! I think he usually used it for emergency contact purposes, not just to play the blues. I also don't know enough sax music: personally, I hear the riff from "Baker Street" every time he gets that thing out.
The letters page mentions, it would be tough to replace Darick Robertson and Gene Ha, but Kyle Hotz would be the regular artist for a bit. He's great! I think he would go on to Ghost Rider 2099 later, another book that had just a murderers' row of great artists yet didn't have a particularly long run.
Bonus: I have enough magnets on my fridge to give myself an MRI every morning, but it was annoying the crap out of me that I couldn't find my the Green Slime movie poster magnet! So, I ordered a new one, along with this Russian-looking poster for the Night Man on VHS!
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